Singapore legislation
Regulation 11
Regulation 11
Increase in credit limit
Subregulation 1
Subject to regulation 18C(6) and (7), a card issuer shall not —
increase a cardholder’s aggregate credit limit unless the cardholder has requested for the increase in a document signed by him; or
in relation to a guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card, increase the credit limit for that guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card, unless the cardholder has requested for the increase in a document signed by him.
Subregulation 2
Where a cardholder requests the card issuer for an increase under paragraph (1) in his aggregate credit limit or in the credit limit of his guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card, the card issuer shall —
obtain, not more than one month prior to the increase —
an indication from the cardholder of his preferred aggregate credit limit in a document signed by him; or
in the case of a guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card, indications from both the cardholder and his guarantor, in documents signed by each of them, of their preferred credit limit for that guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card; and
obtain, not more than one month prior to the increase —
in the absence of a preferred aggregate credit limit indicated pursuant to sub-paragraph (a)(i), the consent of the cardholder in a document signed by him, for the amount of the increase in the aggregate credit limit; or
in the absence of a preferred credit limit indicated by the cardholder or his guarantor, as the case may be, pursuant to sub‑paragraph (a)(ii), the consent of the cardholder or the guarantor, as the case may be, in a document signed by him, for the amount of the increase in the credit limit.
Subregulation 3
For the purpose of paragraph (2)(b) —
a cardholder shall be deemed to have consented to the amount of the increase in his aggregate credit limit if he had agreed, in a document signed by him, to an increase in his aggregate credit limit which was more than what was granted; and
in the case of a guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card —
a cardholder shall be deemed to have consented to the increase in the credit limit for that guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card if he had agreed, in a document signed by him, to an increase in the credit limit which was more than what was granted; and
a guarantor shall be deemed to have consented to the increase in the credit limit for that guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card if he had agreed, in a document signed by him, to an increase in the credit limit which was more than what was granted.
Subregulation 4
Subject to regulation 14, a card issuer shall not, in granting under paragraph (1) a cardholder an increase in his aggregate credit limit or an increase in the credit limit of his guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card, grant an increase that results in, as the case may be —
the aggregate credit limit of the cardholder being greater than the preferred aggregate credit limit which the cardholder has indicated or consented to pursuant to paragraph (2)(a)(i) or (b)(i), as the case may be; or
the credit limit of the guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card being greater than the lower of the following:
the preferred credit limit indicated or consented to by the cardholder pursuant to paragraph (2)(a)(ii) or (b)(ii), as the case may be;
the preferred credit limit indicated or consented to by the guarantor pursuant to paragraph (2)(a)(ii) or (b)(ii), as the case may be.
Subregulation 5
Any card issuer which contravenes paragraph (1), (2) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $25,000.
Subregulation 6
Paragraph (1) does not apply to any increase in the aggregate credit limit of a supplementary cardholder, or increase in the credit limit of a guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card for a supplementary cardholder, as the case may be, where —
the increase in the credit limit or aggregate credit limit, as the case may be, is requested by the principal cardholder in a document signed by him and is for a purpose which has been specified by the Authority in writing to the card issuer;
the increase is granted by the card issuer only for a reasonable period of time and for a reasonable amount, taking into account the purpose of the request for the increase; and
the card issuer agrees with the principal cardholder not to recover from the supplementary cardholder such amounts as are outstanding on the supplementary card, which exceed —
where the supplementary card is issued before 1 June 2014 and the supplementary cardholder has not been granted an increase in the credit limit of the supplementary card or the aggregate credit limit between that date and the date of the increase, the credit limit of the supplementary card or aggregate credit limit granted to the supplementary cardholder immediately before the increase; or
in any other case, the credit limit of the supplementary card or the aggregate credit limit granted to the supplementary cardholder in accordance with paragraph (4) or regulation 10(7), as the case may be, before the increase.
Subregulation 7
Paragraph (1) also does not apply to any increase in the aggregate credit limit of a supplementary cardholder, or increase in the credit limit of a guaranteed credit card or guaranteed charge card for a supplementary cardholder, where —
the increase in the credit limit or aggregate credit limit, as the case may be, is requested by the principal cardholder in a document signed by him; and
the supplementary cardholder is a child who is financially dependent on the principal cardholder.
Subregulation 8
In paragraph (7)(b), “child”, in relation to a cardholder, includes a stepchild and a child who has been de facto adopted by the cardholder, whether or not such adoption has been registered in accordance with the provisions of any written law.